Written Answers Wednesday 20 December 2006

Scottish Executive

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its capital investment in education (a) has been in each of the last 10 years and (b) is estimated to be in each of the next five years.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive facilitates capital investment in the various education sectors by providing those sectors either with capital resources or current resources to finance capital expenditure.

  Table 1 sets out annual local authority gross capital expenditure on schools for the financial years 1996-97 to 2005-06, compiled from local authority capital payment returns. In addition there has been significant capital investment in schools incurred by the private sector in the context of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects. The capital value of the projects agreed in 1998 was some £520 million. The value of projects under the current PPP round is some £2.3 billion.

  Tables 2 and 3 set out details of the Executive’s capital allocations to the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council for those sectors.

  The Executive does not hold details of estimated local authority capital expenditure for future years. Tables 2 and 3 include budgeted expenditure for 2006-07 and 2007-08.

  Table 1 – Schools – Total Gross Capital Expenditure on Schools by Local Authorities (Including Payments Funded from Revenue)

  

 
£ Million


 1996-97
 119.846


 1997-98
 120.799


 1998-99
 159.899


 1999-2000
 154.135


 2000-01
 146.103


 2001-02
 158.995


 2002-03
 166.678


 2003-04
 188.129


 2004-05
 204.996


 2005-06
 312.375



  Source: As reported by authorities on Capital Payment Returns (CPR5).

  Notes

  1. Includes nursery, primary, secondary and special schools.

  2. Figures do not include expenditure on Public Private Partnership (PPP) schemes, where the capital expenditure is incurred by the private sector partner, not the local authority. Authorities make annual payments to their PPP partners over the contract period in respect of capital works, services and on-going maintenance.

  Table 2 – Capital Allocations for Higher Education

  

 
£ Million


2000-01
38.897


2001-02
45.625


2002-03
27.171


2003-04
28.212


2004-05
10.000


2005-06
38.000


2006-07
55.000*


2007-08
 85.000*



  Note: *Budgeted figure.

  Table 3 – Capital Allocations for Further Education

  

 
£ Million


 2000-01
 38.920


 2001-02
 28.920


 2002-03
 20.920


 2003-04
 20.920


 2004-05
 37.920


 2005-06
 65.920


 2006-07
 87.920*


 2007-08
 87.920*



  Note: *Budgeted figure.

Education

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage the incorporation into teacher training courses of an understanding of the processes by which children acquire speech and language skills.

Hugh Henry: All students undertaking initial teacher education courses are already required to understand the processes by which children acquire speech and language skills.

  By the end of the course, and to reach the Standard of Initial Teacher Education, all student teachers must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the stages of child development and take account of individual pupils’ needs.

External Relations

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29971 by Mr Tom McCabe on 4 December 2006, whether a secondee from HM Treasury was involved in providing assistance to the Executive in developing its strategies for stronger engagement with the United States of America and China.

Mr Tom McCabe: Decisions on the Executive’s strategies for closer engagement with the USA and China were settled collectively by ministers following advice from Scottish Executive officials. HM Treasury was not involved.

External Relations

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29971 by Mr Tom McCabe on 4 December 2006, whether it will detail the plans of Scottish ministers for stronger engagement with the United States of America and China.

Mr Tom McCabe: The plans are public documents. The strategy for stronger engagement with China was published on 28 August 2006 and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40266). The strategy for stronger engagement with the United States of America was published on 16 October 2006 and was also placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40731). The documents are also available on the Scottish Executive’s website.

Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce more specialist motor neurone disease nursing staff in hospitals.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive does not directly manage the care of people with motor neurone disease or with any other chronic illnesses. Services for people with long-term conditions are for NHS boards to plan and to fund from the unified budgets which are made available to them from the Executive. NHS boards are responsible for planning services in their area based on clinical need and for securing the staff needed to deliver them. The Scottish Executive has no power to intervene in their decisions.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its health budget is spent on medical technology.

Mr Andy Kerr: Spending on medical technology is a matter for individual health boards within their delegated limits of approvals. Investment in this area may require business cases to be approved by the board and subsequently by the Health Department depending on the level of expenditure required. The Scottish Executive does not centrally collect information on the total expenditure on medical technology by health boards.

Income

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average household incomes have been in each year since 1999, also broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following income estimates are based on the Family Resources Survey. As such, year-on-year changes should be treated with caution due to sampling variation. Identification of trends must be based on data for several years. The Scottish Executive has funded a doubling of the Scottish sample since 2002-03; estimates from 2002-03 should be less prone to fluctuation than those for earlier years.

  Estimates are only available at Scotland level.

  Table: Median Equivalised Net-Disposable Household Income in Scotland, 2000-01 to 2004-05

  

 
Scotland’s Median(£ Per Week)


 Before Housing Costs
 After Housing Costs


 2000-01
 310
 266


 2001-02
 326
 280


 2002-03
 331
 291


 2003-04
 346
 310


 2004-05
 349
 313



  Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP.

  Notes:

  "Equivalised" income is used to allow comparisons of living standards between different household types.

  Net disposable household income: Total income from all sources (including Tax Credits) after deductions for income tax, National Insurance contributions, council tax, pension contributions and maintenance payments.

  Housing costs: Rent/mortgage payments, water charges, structural insurance premiums, ground rent and service charges.

Justice

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the evaluation of the mandatory supervised attendance order pilots in Glasgow and Ayrshire.

Cathy Jamieson: The final evaluation of the pilot schemes for use of Supervised Attendance Orders on a mandatory basis in Glasgow and Ayr is published today and is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent . I am pleased to say that the report is broadly positive and found that the pilots resulted in a significant reduction in the number of offenders sent to custody for fine default.

  On the strength of the success of the pilots and the Sentencing Commission’s support for extended use of Supervised Attendance Orders I have decided to provide additional resources to allow operation of Supervised Attendance Orders on a mandatory basis across all courts from summer 2007.

Mental Health

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what increases are planned for the mental health specific grant funding in 2007-08 and subsequent years.

Lewis Macdonald: Funding for the Mental Health Specific Grant will be maintained at £20 million, as published in the Scottish Executive Draft Budget 2007-08 . Future funding levels will be considered during Spending Review 2007.

  These significant resources currently help fund 370 community-based mental health projects and initiatives. Local authorities and other partners can add to the grants awarded at any time.

Mortality

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many stroke-related deaths there were in (a) Dundee and (b) Angus in each of the last 10 years, expressed also as a standardised rate for those under 75 per 100,000 population.

George Lyon: The information requested is given in the following table.

  Deaths from Cerebrovascular Diseases (Stroke) 1, Selected Council Areas, 1996-2005

  

 
 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 (a) Dundee City 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 All ages: number
 180
 173
 183
 184
 191
 154
 182
 158
 185
 163


 Under 75: number
 54
 43
 57
 53
 55
 48
 48
 39
 36
 42


 Under 75: rate2
 29.9
 25.8
 32.0
 31.5
 29.7
 29.5
 27.0
 23.7
 21.5
 26.2


 (b) Angus 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 All ages: number
 172
 165
 159
 170
 176
 161
 178
 173
 172
 146


 Under 75: number
 32
 34
 36
 40
 31
 31
 32
 35
 32
 19


 Under 75: rate2
 25.8
 26.4
 27.4
 29.6
 25.1
 22.9
 24.8
 24.4
 23.1
 13.2



  Notes:

  1. 1996-1999 ICD9 codes 430-438; 2000-2005 ICD10 codes I60-I69.

  2. Standardised death rate per 100,000 population (under 75).

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the appointment of the Appointed Person under section 290 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Cathy Jamieson: I am pleased that Andrew Smith QC has agreed to be re-appointed as the Appointed Person for a further four years with effect from 18 December.

Public Appointments

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the position of Chair of Scottish Enterprise will next be advertised.

Nicol Stephen: Ministers announced their decision to re-appoint Sir John Ward as Chairman of Scottish Enterprise for a period of two years from February 2007 on 14 December 2006.

  The position of Chair of the Scottish Enterprise Board will next be advertised in time to appoint a replacement for Sir John Ward when his term ends in February 2009.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Expenditure

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total rates bill has been for the commissions, ombudsmen and all other bodies funded by the SPCB in each of the last three years.

John Scott: The total rates bill for the Commissioners and Ombudsmen funded by the SPCB who are in properties which attract rates in each of the last three years is as follows:

  

 
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
 43,743.34
 43,944.50
 49,576


 Scottish Information Commissioner
 9,045.24
 15,712
 18,293


 Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland Commissioner
 
 
 18,041


 Total
£52,788.58
£59,656.50
£85,910



  The Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland rents office space in serviced accommodation which does not attract rates. The Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is home based and does not therefore pay rates over and above his domestic rates.

  During the last three years the SPCB has also provided funding to the Futures Forum which has no accommodation to attract rates, and the Scottish Parliament and Business Exchange Ltd leases accommodation in Edinburgh.